TED CRUZ: I'm the only one who can beat Donald Trump

While the South Carolina Republican primary results were still
rolling in, Ted Cruz gave a speech casting himself as the
only viable alternative to Donald Trump.

Cruz was fighting fellow Sen. Marco Rubio for second place in the
Palmetto State. Shortly before 10 p.m., Cruz and Rubio were
effectively tied for second. Real-estate mogul Trump won the
state with more than 30% of the vote.

"Indeed the screaming you hear now from across the Potomac is the
Washington cartel in full terror that the conservative grassroots
are rising up," Cruz said.

He added:

In Iowa, they said it couldn't be done, and we won. In New
Hampshire, they said a conservative ... could not compete. And we
defied expectations. And tonight, despite millions and millions
of dollars of false and nasty attacks, despite the entirety of
the political establishment coming together against us, South
Carolina has given us another remarkable result.

Cruz also pointed out that his campaign is the only one that has
beaten Trump in a primary contest.

"Conservatives continue to unite behind our campaign," Cruz said.
"If you are a conservative, this is where you belong because only
one strong conservative is in a position to win this race. ... We
are the only campaign that has beaten and can beat Donald Trump.
That's why Donald relentlessly attacks us and ignores all the
other candidates."

He also tried to make the case that he could beat Democratic
frontrunner Hillary Clinton in the general election in November.

"Now I congratulate Donald on his victory but ... if you don't
believe that Donald Trump is the best candidate to run against
Hillary Clinton in November, if you believe we need a strong
contrast with the Democrats ... then we welcome you aboard our
team," Cruz said.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush
dropped out of the race after a disappointing showing in
South Carolina, but Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired
neurosurgeon Ben Carson are still in.